Golden Dragon Plant in Alabama could bring up to 500 jobs

Gov. Robert Bentley, seated, signs the economic development agreement for Golden Dragon Copper while looking on, from left, are Mike Hubbard, speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives; Greg Canfield, director of the Alabama Development Office; and Del Marsh, president pro-tem of the Alabama Senate.

Nearly $200 million in state and local incentives helped lure China's Golden Dragon Copper to build a $100 million copper tubing plant in Wilcox County and create a chance for up to 500 jobs in the Alabama county with the highest unemployment rate.

Golden Dragon Copper signed a deal Tuesday to build the plant in Pine Hill in Wilcox County, nearly a year after it announced and then backed out plans for a similar project in neighboring Clarke County last year.

The plant will operate as GD Copper (USA) Inc. with initial plans to hire 300 workers in the first three years and the possibility of adding 200 more later.

AIDT, the state's worker training program, will handle hiring and training for the company. The Alabama Department of Transportation and local governments also committed to assisting with some site preparation, access and infrastructure improvements.

GD Copper's investment and job creation qualifies for certain statutory incentives such as tax abatements the state gives to manufacturers, but Greg Canfield, director of the Alabama Development Office, said in an interview that Alabama committed to $20 million in cash payments if GD Copper can build its plant quickly and hire hundreds of workers.

"We've layered in discretionary incentives based on Golden Dragon hitting employment targets and start-up over time," Canfield said. "They will have the opportunity to hit milestones and earn a maximum in discretionary incentives of $20 million, but that would require them to reach and maintain at least 500 jobs."

Canfield said the incentives agreement includes clawbacks for the state to recoup a portion of its incentives if the company fails to deliver on its investment and job creation. He put the entire incentives package at $200 million.

"There is an eight-year jobs maintenance period on this agreement, which is highly unusual," he said. "We've protected the taxpayer's interest as best we can."

GD Copper's Wilcox County plant will use state-of-the-art "cast and roll" technology, processing methodology and equipment to produce the copper tubing.

"This project shows how Alabama remains an attractive investment for international companies," Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement.

The jobs are needed in Wilcox County, which has the highest unemployment rate in the state -- 16.3 percent in December 2011, more than twice the state average of 8.1 percent. The county had a rate of 19.7 percent in December 2010.

Canfield said the jobs will average $15 to $17 per hour.

"Those are good wages for Wilcox County," Canfield said.

George Alford, manager of the Wilcox County Industrial Development Authority, said the project is one of the largest economic development events in the county's history.

"Recently, we were named the 15th poorest county in the United States," Alford said. "We believe this project is the first major step in reducing our high unemployment and poverty rates."

Pine Hill Mayor Harry Mason said in an interview the project will change the face of the town.

"We haven't gotten much to spur the economy, not anything like this copper mill," he said. "Some of our folks are driving a long way to get to their jobs. We're just a small town. We've got about a thousand people. We have a Dollar General, a few grocery stores, some service stations. It will really affect our economy."